Violets are amazing!

Northern bog violet growing on the edge of a marshy field.

Violets are truly wonders of spring. In BC, there are 20 native species with flowers ranging in colour from white to yellow to lavender to, well, violet. Most flower early in spring and their small stature lends us the phrase “shrinking violet”. Ground nesting spring bees feast on the pollen and nectar, and the flowers and young leaves of most species are edible.